On Thursday the Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved a license request for a new nuclear power plant to be built near Augusta, Georgia. It's the first new nuclear power plant to get a green light from the government since the Three Mile Island meltdown in 1979. Go Isotopes! Now nuclear power enthusiasts are spinning this faster than an overheating centrifuge, heralding the licensing as the dawn of a new era in nuclear energy. more ›

Now that Karen Handel has stepped down from the Susan G. Komen Foundation, it seems that she can get back into Georgia Republican politics with her head held up high. One Georgia-based GOP strategist tells the AP, "It's kind of hard to criticize her now. She comes out of this with some really strong bona fides with pro-life voters across the state." Right, the pro-lifers who made an issue of her... being "barren," "infertile" and "desperate." more ›

One of the more uncommon ways to get caught after six years on the lam for violating one's parole? Save a suicidal teenager from drowning and rescue a police officer stuck in the mud. That at least is how 49-year-old Michael Rogers, convicted in 2001 on four counts of child molestation in Georgia, was caught this week in Connecticut. He is currently being held in lieu of a $200,000 bail in Connecticut while Georgia seeks to extradite him. more ›

Even if you're not an evangelical Christian fundamentalist, you're probably familiar with the 58 Commandments. Standard stuff: Thou Shalt Not Kill, Thou Shalt Not Drink Alcohol in Public, Thou Shalt Not Support Homosexuality, etc. etc. It's not enough for employees at Georgia's Shorter University to place their faith in these tenets, so the school wants them to put it in writing, requiring them to sign a "Personal Lifestyle Statement" that forces them to pledge loyalty to the school, refrain from having a glass of wine at Applebees and "reject…premarital sex, adultery, and homosexuality," or be fired. Because nothing strengthens the sacred bond between one's God and one's soul like a legally binding document. more ›

Those condemning and defending the execution of Troy Davis took to Twitter last night (#troydavis) to vent their grievances. One user, however, kept quiet. @CorrectHealth, the account owned by the company of the same name, has only updated regarding the services the company provides: healthcare to patients in correctional facilities. more ›

In an attempt to prevent Troy Davis from being killed by lethal injection tonight, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that his lawyers "filed a court motion seeking a stay of tonight's execution in Superior Court in Butts County, home to Georgia's death row." Additionally, his lawyers asked prison officials to perform a polygraph test on Davis, but they were turned away; one said, "We came here to try and prove Mr. Davis is innocent and unfortunately we were denied that opportunity by the Department of Corrections." more ›

Diplomatic immunity—it's not just for avoiding paying parking tickets! A man who works for the country of Georgia was arrested for shoplifting hundreds of dollars of items at Century 21, but didn't face prosecution because of immunity. The next obvious question: Does this mean all immunity-protected folks are going to opt for the five-finger discount?! more ›

With litigation pending, NYU has been keeping mum regarding the death of student John Hunt Lamensdorf, who died on set last May while helping with another student's film project. The university has also been urging others not to talk about the incident publicly, but now the Village Voice has a lengthy account of what happened on the Georgia set, directly from someone who was there: Jason Welin. more ›

Here we go again: New Yorkers are leaving the city for Georgia. Or rather, Atlanta. The NY Post has the latest on the exodus, zeroing in on a family who live on an "above average" income but were still only able to live on Long Island while here...with one of their parents. "But when the family moved to Atlanta, Merritt and his wife found they were living far better on about the same income," saying "We went from struggling to having a great quality of life in just a few weeks." Real estate is, of course, a main factor here, with a 4-bedroom home going for around $275K in an Atlanta suburb, and property taxes about a 1/4 of what they would be in New York. So maybe the Real Housewives of Atlanta aren't really that rich after all? The paper also reminds that "between 2000 and 2005, 40,000 New Yorkers moved to Atlanta, according to the city's Regional Commission." more ›

Former mayor and presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani was in Georgia today, to campaign for Senator Saxby Chambliss. Chambliss will face off against Democratic challenger Jim Martin in a December 2 run-off. more ›

Well, it only took two weeks for Alaska's election officials to figure out that Anchorage mayor Mark Begich (D) managed beat the incumbent, convicted Sen. Ted Stevens (R), who has been serving since 1968. Begich said, “I can’t wait to get to work fighting for Alaskan families," and his win also means an end to guessing whether Governor Sarah Palin might appoint herself to Stevens' seat. There is some talk of a recount (Begich's margin is 3,724 with just 2,500 votes left to recount), but the Anchorage Daily News reports with machine counting "recent Alaska recounts have resulted in little change in the final tally." As for other undecided Senate races: In Minnesota, Sen. Norm Coleman (R) leads Al Franken (D) by 215 votes, but a recount will start tomorrow, while the Dec. 2 runoff between Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R) and Jim Martin (D) in Georgia is drawing big names. more ›

Hundreds of Georgians living in NYC, which has the largest enclave of Gerogians in the country, prayed for the Georgian-Russian conflict to end at a Georgian Orthodox church in Williamsburg yesterday. While a cease-fire was signed last week, St. Nino's Father Alexander Tandilashvili told NY1, "They said several times that they are going to stop the fire, but fire continues. Now they are stop the fire but concerns to the withdrawal of the troops. I would love to see that they keep their word, but they already broke their word several times so it's very difficult to believe what they say." As it happens, though Russia agreed to withdraw from Georgia over the weekend, U.S. officials say, per the NY Times, that Russian military is "moving launchers for short-range ballistic missiles into South Ossetia, a step that appeared intended to tighten its hold on the breakaway territory." more ›

Georgia President Mikheil Saakashvili signed a cease-fire that requires Russian military to withdraw from Georgia. U.S. Secretary Condoleezza Rice, who is in Georgia's capital of Tbilisi, told reporters, "Our most urgent task today is the immediate and orderly withdrawal of Russian armed forces and the return of those forces to Russia." more ›

The Daily News reports that "local Georgians are planning to march from the UN to the Russian Consulate Thursday afternoon to protest the conflict in their native country." They will meet at 3 p.m., in front of hte U.N., and will begin the march at 4 p.m. In the meantime, Russian President Dmitri Medvedev says Russia will, per the Times, "act as an international guarantor of the two pro-Russian enclaves at the center of the crisis," which flies in the face of President Bush's request that "the sovereign and territorial integrity of Georgia be respected.” U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said, "I don’t see any prospect for the use of military force by the United States in this situation." more ›

President Bush announced today that he's sending Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to the country of Georgia, to show "America's unwavering support." Rice will go to Georgian capital Tbilisi after going to France, which had negotiated the ceasefire between Russia and Georgia. However, Georgia claims Russia tanks occupied the city of Gori today. Georgian president Mikhal Saakashvili criticized the West, including the U.S., saying, “Today, the West’s very will is tested. The main thing is if the West fails now, then it will have tremendous consequences for the world for years to come.” MSNBC reports Russian military mocked retreating Gerogians as having gotten "American training in running away. more ›

Russian President Dmitri Medvedev ordered a halt to military action in Georgia, saying, "I have taken the decision to end the operation to force Georgian authorities into peace...The aggressor has been punished and suffered significant losses." The aggressor being Georgia, which tried to take back separatist state South Ossetia back, leading to the Russian army to step in. However, fighting has seems to be continuing. Yesterday, President Bush denounced Russia's earlier actions, "Russia has invaded a sovereign neighboring state and threatens a democratic government elected by its people. Such an action is unacceptable in the 21st century," and that the incident had "substantially damaged Russia's standing in the world." The U.S.'s largest Georgian enclave is in NYC, mostly in Brooklyn. more ›

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Georgia, the runaway subway cat rescued by a Con Ed meter reader and two determined MTA track workers, is resting up not just from her 25 days in the subway tunnels, but from surgery yesterday to repair a fractured leg. The doctors at Fifth Avenue Veterinary Specialists waited until yesterday to perform the surgery because Georgia was dehydrated at the time of her rescue and they wanted her stabilized before they performed the procedure. more ›

Georgia's been on a lot of people's minds since news of her disappearance became public in January, but she is now safe at home. The black cat escaped owner Ashley Phillips' pet carrier while they were waiting on the platform at 59th St. for a 6 train, on their way home from the Humane Society where Georgia had just been spayed. She survived 25 days in the subway tunnels before being found and rescued. more ›

The man who allegedly shot and killed Carol Simon-Hayes last week, as she was walking towards her nine-year-old son and talking to a friend on the phone, has been arrested. Darius Dubarry was arrested at a motel in Augusta, Georgia, where the 27-year-old fled town after Simon-Hayes's death. Simon-Hayes was killed in Crown Heights when an argument between Dubarry and another man devolved to gunplay, and Simon was struck by a stray bullet. “I got a bullet, I have to call 911," the nurse technician told her friend on the phone. more ›